


Robron Ficlets

by C0c0plumb (cocoplumb)



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Brain Surgery, Coughing, Epilepsy, Haircuts, Headaches & Migraines, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Phantom pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-02 21:32:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8684104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocoplumb/pseuds/C0c0plumb
Summary: A collection of unrelated Robert and Aaron stories. Mostly hurt!Robert. Ideas and prompts are welcome!#6 - Another story in the Meds verse where Robert has epilepsy.





	1. Where Is My Mind?

**Author's Note:**

> Very excited to be posting my first Robron fic! Long story short, I thought the fandom was lacking a little in hurt!Robert and this is what my brain cooked up. I'm not a medical professional so take this with a pinch of salt if you like. I was going for a PWP kind of vibe so as not to dig myself in a hole too deep.
> 
> I'm still pondering the thought of making this into a multiple ficlet thing where each story is different and unrelated to the next. Feel free to send prompts to my Tumblr: 
> 
> http://chairmanlightwood.tumblr.com

It starts off with a headache. Just a simple headache that really isn't anything to be concerned about. Robert gets headaches all the time, from stress he doesn't show, from worry he has about Aaron, or from general morons winding him up. But this headache doesn't go away, it lingers and chips away at him for weeks. His vision blurs at least once a day, he throws up if he stands too quickly and takes so many Paracetamol that Aaron corners Liv and demands to know if she's stealing them. 

"It can't be anyone else. I haven't taken any, my mums got other things she takes and it isn't Robert." 

"Are you joking me? Is this how it's going to be, anytime something dodgy happens in this house you just assume it's me?" Liv storms out of the living room and slams the door so hard Robert sees black dots dancing for a moment as the pain behind his eyes skyrockets.

He sneaks out the next morning and books an emergency appointment with his doctor. He flashes a light in Robert's eyes, checks his blood pressure and takes a blood sample. He doesn't look too concerned as he tells Robert it's probably stress related or he needs glasses.

Robert chuckles at the thought of what Aaron would make of him in specs. He already makes fun of his cardigans. 

He finds his fiancé in the shower when he gets home and decides to join him. Aaron is washing the suds from his hair as Robert slips in behind him, strokes his hands down his chest and kisses him deeply. Robert puts the sex they have that night in his top ten, Aaron grins and asks what's gotten into him. He sleeps better than he has all month. 

He talks Aaron around and gets him to lay off Liv, all the while skillfully avoiding incriminating himself. 

"She might be a troublemaker, but she's not a drug dealer, Aaron."

The dust settles and things go back to normal. Robert looks forward to putting this whole thing behind him when he gets the call back from his doctor. He doesn't need glasses. He needs tests, lots of them. 

A week later, it's confirmed. He has a brain tumour. 

Robert's ego is blown to oblivion and he walks around the village feeling like he's standing on the edge of a black hole only he can see. 

It's not cancerous, but he needs surgery to remove it. 

He doesn't tell Aaron. He can't.

 

<>

 

Robert throws himself into his work during the day and spends his evenings in the pub drinking just enough alcohol to avoid reality. 

Aaron gives him funny looks, Chas asks him if he's okay, even Liv notices something isn't right with him. She calls him a weirdo but looks worried instead of irritated when she says it. 

 

<>

 

Oddly, the first person he does tell is Paddy. He makes up some excuse about a business meeting then goes to the vet's office and asks Paddy how he can possibly break this kind of news to the man he loves more than anything in the world. 

"I know Aaron will survive this. If I..." _die_. "If he can make it through Gordon, he can do anything."

"So what's the problem? If you know he can handle it, why not just tell him the truth." Paddy is trying to be uncaring, but the cold tone of his voice wobbles and Robert wants to cry. 

"Because I don't think I can. I can't handle hurting him again. I just want him to be happy, he _deserves_ to be happy." 

Paddy sighs and awkwardly puts a hand on Robert's shoulder. "He can't be happy while you're lying to him."

He thanks Paddy for his advice and appologises for their history. For the first time, Paddy actually acepts it. 

When Aaron gets back from the scrapyard that evening, Robert joins him at the bar. He's gone over and over his head what he plans to say, how he plans to say it. But the second he sees Aaron, he freezes and forgets everything. 

"You look done in," his fiancé offers. 

Robert shrugs and finishes the last of his pint.

Aaron sighs. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on or are we just going to sit here pretending until it all goes tits up?"

Robert puts his glass down and looks at Aaron, really looks for the first time all week. There are worry lines etched into his forehead, he hasn't shaved in a few days and his under eyes are darker than they should be. It's taking it toll on the both of them despite only one of them knowing the truth. 

"Why am I a good lying to everyone but you?" he asks. 

For a second, Aaron looks like he wants to punch him. "Robert-"

"I've been having these headaches," he mumbles. He promised himself he wouldn't give Aaron too many details and he'd reassure him first and foremost before he said anything further. So much for that plan. 

"I hadn't noticed," Aaron mutters, sarcasm dripping from his words. "It was pretty obvious when you were convincing me it wasn't Liv that took all those Paracetamols." 

"I didn't want to worry you."

Aaron snorts and fiddles with his bag of peanuts. "Great job you did with that then." 

"I'm scared, Aaron." 

"I'm sure it's nothing." 

"It's a tumour," he blurts out and Aaron drops the peanuts. 

 

<>

 

Neither of them sleeps that night. Robert maybe gets a few hours but that's only because he's exhausted from all the pretending. Aaron tosses and turns and at three in the morning when they're both laid awake, he slips his hand into Robert's and promises to be by his side through everything. 

Chas hugs him and tells him everything's going to be fine. She tells Liv on his behalf and she doesn't speak to him for two days. Robert can't bring himself to tell Vic or Diane, it'll break their hearts, they'll cry and inadvertently half the village would know by tea time. 

They'll find out eventually, they're bound to. But for now, he plans to handle it with at least some of his dignity intact and with as few people knowing as possible. 

His headaches get worse, he starts forgetting things and some days he can hardly get out of bed, but he does for Aaron's sake. He and Liv are on speaking terms again, but she doesn't wind him up as much as she used to. It should be a welcome relief. It's not. 

A week before he's scheduled for one last pre-surgery scan, Robert collapses in the middle of the cafe. One minute he and Aaron are ordering two Americano's to go and the next Aaron's fists are in the front of his leather jacket holding him upright, pleading for him to be okay.

Robert has a seizure in the back of the ambulance, he stops breathing and Aaron barely has time to tell him he loves him before he's whisked away through a pair of 'Medical Personnel Only' doors. 

Seven hours later, Robert is hooked up to almost as many machines as he was when he was on life support after being shot, the side of his is shaved and the tumour is gone. 

He wakes up to Aaron running his fingers through what's left of his fringe. "You look like a right muppet," he jokes, his voice quiet and soft and he places a kiss on Robert's forehead, mindful of the drain tubes and dried blood. "You feel alright?"

Robert makes a noise he hopes sounds like a yes. Aaron smiles briefly and holds something up. It glimmers in the pale yellow light above his bed. "I reckon you can have this back now." He slides the ring back on Robert's finger and cups their hands together. 

 

<>

 

Vic promises she's going to kill him once he gets better, and Diane calls him _Pet_ and makes him feel terrible. She lectures him on family and honesty and if this was Andy he'd know they were all there for him and that he didn't need to keep it a secret. 

Robert doesn't see much of Diane after that. The look Aaron gets whenever she casually comes up in conversation tells him his fiance has something to do with that. 

Robert sleeps a lot, he loses weight and pushes himself in physical thearapy. He's discharged from the hospital, he gains the weight again and he stops wearing the jogging bottoms he loaths so much. 

He doesn't go back to work as soon as he'd like, but he starts hanging around the scrapyard like old times to keep himself entertained. Aaron doesn't let him lift anything heavier than a side mirror and if Robert is lucky, some days he manages not to fall asleep in the portacabin after just a few hours. 

His hair starts to grow back around the scar but its uneven and ridiculous, so he drops into Bernice's and asks her to do what she can. She jumps and squeaks, barely touching his head like she's afraid his skull might shatter like cheap glass. He sighs and tells her not to bother. 

"I am borrowing this, though." He takes a pair of hair clippers home with him, much to Bernice's dismay, and asks for Aaron's help. 

Liv grins and offers her services when Aaron tells him he has no idea what's he's doing. But luckily under Chas's guidance, together they don't do a bad job. 

Robert and Aaron take a shower to get rid of the fly away blonde hairs that somehow end up on the both of them. Tickling their necks and making them itch. 

"I couldn't bare to loose you," Aaron says, his voice hushed under the spray. 

Robert frowns, not really sure where this has come from. "And you won't." 

"But I nearly did."

"You _won't_." The steam clouds around Aaron's head, making him look angelic almost. "Besides, I've been beaten, shot, beaten again, kidnapped, beaten some more, and almost set on fire by my crazy ex-wife. And not necessarily in that order. After a brain tumour, I think I've proved I'm invincible."

Aaron snorts. "Let's not test that theory again, though. Yeah?" 

Robert feigns thought, tilting his head before slowly answering, "Yeah." 

His fiance shakes his head. "Idiot." 


	2. Breathe Underwater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #2 - Robert has a cough that turns into something far more sinister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...this may have just turned in a 'How many ways can I torture Robert?' ficlet collection. This is unrelated to the first story aside from the fact that this chapter is also named after a Placebo song. 
> 
> Prompts/ideas and comments are very much welcome!

Aaron is sat at the bar, distracted by his pint and Paddy’s shameful retelling of his latest failed stunt to win Rhona back. The entertainment is so golden, he doesn’t notice the smile his mum has had all day drain suddenly from her face.

Aaron presses his lips together, trying not to laugh too hard as Paddy’s embarrassing tale comes to a fantastically bad end, explaining why he had to use their shower not half an hour ago when he came into the pub covered in bird crap and feathers. He finishes the last of his beer and is about to ask for another when he looks up to see his mum putting the phone down, worry etched into her forehead.

"Aaron, love. It's Robert," she says quietly. 

Aaron sighs. So much for that second beer. "What's he done now?"

Paddy snorts beside him and mutters something he doesn't quite catch. 

"Nothing. That was Bob," Chas points her thumb over her shoulder, motioning at the phone on the wall. "He said Robert just collapsed in the cafe." 

Aaron's heart drops to his stomach and he slips off the stool. "You what? Where...where is now?" 

"Still at the cafe. He said they're trying to convince him to go to the hospital but he isn't having any of it."

_Surprise surprise._

Paddy puts a hand on the back of his shoulder but Aaron shrugs him off.

"I've got to go," he tells them, "Mum can you-"

"I'll take care of Liv," she says, already thinking ahead of him. He's supposed to be taking his sister out to buy Christmas presents after school, just to two of them. "She'll understand. You just go." 

"Do you want me to come with you?" Paddy asks tentatively. He's really been trying lately. To be a better man, to be the mate Aaron can always rely on like it used to be. But when it comes to things concerning Robert, they both have a way to go.

"No, thanks." Aaron takes his coat his mum hands him over the bar that he didn't see her go in the back for but is grateful she did. It's freezing outside. For a moment his mind wanders back to Liv, he said he'd get some gloves for school today. 

He calls Robert on his way across the village to the cafe. He doesn't answer, Aaron didn't expect him to, he's probably otherwise occupied. But still, the worry trying to strangle him tightens a little bit more and his jog breaks into a sprint. 

When he gets there, it takes him a moment to find Robert. Beyond the small group of people surrounding him, Aaron can just about see the top of Robert's blond hair and glimpses of his burgundy suit. Aaron loves that suit. He doesn't know why. It's not like he's ever been a bloke that cares about what his other half wears. Sure, he noticed Robert was hot, first and foremost, before he became infuriatingly intriguing. So it's not like Aaron's not a little bit vain. He's still a red blooded male after all. But there is just something about that suit. He hopes today doesn't ruin that for him. 

"For God's sake, I'm fine."

At the sound of Robert's scratchy voice, Aaron lets out a heavy breath of relief. He'd forgotten about that cough, the one that made him threaten Robert with kipping on the sofa last night if he didn't shut it. 

"Can some of you shift, it's a cafe, not a circus," Bob scolds the group when he notices Aaron. He's not sure if it's just for his sake or  not but Aaron is thankful either way. 

The few people hovering move away and sit back at their tables, muttering under their breaths like nosy folk do.

Stood just a few paces from them, Aaron takes a moment to look the older man over. He's sat - _stumped really_ \- on one of the cafe's worn and beaten sofas. Brenda's knelt down in front of him with her hand on his knee that Aaron notices is shaking. He's pale, not Robert pale but grey pale. He's rubbing his fingers together like he does when he's nervous or uncomfortable. His chest is rising and falling too often and he's pulling at his collar like its constricting his breathing. 

Aaron sits down beside Robert who is apparently late to the party at noticing his arrival. He's looking at Aaron like he can't understand how he's there like he just appeared out of thin air. 

"Hey, what's happened?" 

Robert's confused look quickly dissolves and he glares at Brenda. "I told you not to call him. I'm fine."

Aaron rolls his eyes, he's not sure why he expected an answer involving any kind of honesty. Robert is hard work and makes even Aaron to this day, dig for the truth. "Yeah, that's why you look like death warmed over because you're _fine_." 

"It's nothing. I just got dizzy." Robert pulls on his collar again so Aaron bats his hands away and undoes the top three buttons for him. At the same time, he notices the tie Robert had on that morning. 

"Must be bad if you let this fall on the floor." Aaron leans over to pick it up from under the coffee table, remembering how Robert went on for three days about this tie when Aaron put it in the 'wrong' wash. 

_"Hand wash only, Aaron! Do you know how much this cost?"_

He shoves the tie in his pocket and looks back to Robert just when he starts coughing. Only it's nothing like what he heard last night. Instead of dry and irritating because Robert refuses to go get a drink, this is wet and chesty and rattles Robert's whole body. It makes him tense every muscle and dig his fingers into Aaron's knee like holding onto him keeps him from collapsing completely. Robert hacks into his hand for several agonising minutes and makes a pathetic noise when something wet and sticky comes loose.

Aaron rubs between his shoulder blades and grimaces, thinking of the aggro he gave Robert at four am for being the cause of his lack of sleep. 

He grabs a napkin from the table and hands it over. Robert wipes his hand of phlegm then sags forward. The blue tinge of his fingernails makes Aaron worry spike again.

"I really wish you would let us call an ambulance, you look awful, sweetheart," Brenda interjects. 

"'m fine," Robert insists, though he's clearly anything but as he wheezes into his knees.

Brenda is ready to insist further but looks to Aaron instead who nods, not letting Robert have any further say in the matter. He'll chalk it up to him being unreliably delirious when they argue about it later. 

Brenda shouts Bob's name and mouths 'ambulance' over Aaron's shoulder. She pats Robert's hand and says, "How about I get you some warm water while you wait, 'ey love?" then disappears, leaving them in peace aside from a few customers glancing their way. 

Aaron would drive Robert to the hospital himself but he doesn't have a car, his being at the bottom of the lake and all. They could go in his mums but Robert has to literally fold himself into the passenger seat with his too long legs squished against the dashboard. Not ideal given his current state. And he's not sure he can trust Paddy to keep a lid on his snippy comments if he called him. 

"Mate," he winces in sympathy when Robert starts hacking his lungs up again. He shuffles up to close the gap between them on the sofa and puts his arm carefully over Robert's shoulders. 

"Just a bad cold," he mumbles, his voice sounding wrecked, like he swallowed one of the razor blades Aaron used to hide in his underwear drawer. 

"You can't breathe, Robert. You're not fine and it's not a cold." He brushes Robert's hair back from his forehead with his free hand and notices how hot his skin is under his fingers. "You're red hot," he tells him for no reason in particular. It is alarming when Robert doesn't offer a sarcastic reply to the term 'hot'. 

Instead, Robert makes a pitiful groan and leans further forward on himself. 

"Robert?" Aaron leans with him and holds him with both hands. 

"Dizzy." Robert breathes as best he can and waits for it to pass. He sags against Aaron and coughs again. This time it's less harrowing but only because he doesn't have any energy left. 

"Oi, you're gonna be fine," Aaron reassures, whether he's talking to Robert or himself, they'll never know. 

They stay like that, with Robert coughing miserably every few minutes and Aaron rubbing his back or running his hand through his hair until Bob makes the rest of the customers in the cafe leave as the ambulance parks outside. Two paramedics arrive, a man and woman, and they're so efficient it makes Aaron's head spin, never mind Robert's. 

The woman asks Robert questions and he tries to answer them but makes less and less sense as they go on so Aaron tries to fill in the blanks. 

"Five and a half," Robert tells her when she asks him to pick a number between one and ten for his level of pain when he's coughing. "I've been shot, I know pain," he grumbles when she raises her eyebrows at him like she thinks he's lying. 

"Just put seven," Aaron sighs. 

The guy puts a blood pressure cuff around Robert's arm and tells him its low. He takes his temperature and tells him its high. Then, he clips a SAT's monitor to one of his fingers and immediately puts an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose when numbers Aaron doesn't understand flash up. 

The woman asks Robert if he needs the stretcher or if he can walk, Robert answers her by using Aaron to push himself upright, only to wobble and almost keel over for the second time in one day. 

"Alright, slow down. We can take as much time as you need. No rush," she tells him patiently. "Is your friend okay to come with us to the hospital?"

" _Fiancé_ ," they both correct her and she gets the message.

"I hope you feel better, love. Give us a call if you need anything," Brenda says outside after Aaron and the guy paramedic get Robert into the ambulance. 

Aaron smiles a thank you, before the doors are closed and they're on their way to Hotton General. 

 


	3. Bulletproof Cupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #3 - Robert can't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and sweet :)

"Oi, what you doing up?" Aaron rubs his tired eyes and shuffles into the dimly lit living room, wrapping his dressing gown around himself.

Robert looks up briefly, "Couldn't sleep. I thought I might as well make myself useful." He's sat on the sofa, tapping away on his laptop with papers scattered over the coffee table. 

Aaron picks up a few forms that have slipped onto the floor and puts them back on the table where there's a space. He yawns and sits down heavily next to Robert.

"What's up?" he questions, wanting to know why Robert is sat at stupid o'clock doing work. 

Robert shrugs, "It's this new business like you said, I'm keen." 

"Yeah, but you're more keen about sleep, especially at three in the morning. Or you know, _other_ things still involving a bed." 

Robert doesn't rise to the bait, just carries on like he hasn't heard. He clicks send on an email and then bites the lid off a highlighter pen and circles something on a nearby piece of paper. 

Aaron frowns when he catches Robert absently rubbing his chest with his free hand. "You alright?" 

Robert blinks quizzically, then spots what Aaron is looking at. "Oh, yeah. It's nothing." He drops his hand to rest on his thigh but shifts awkwardly on the sofa like he's still uncomfortable. 

Then it dawns on Aaron as he studies Robert's chest through the pale blue almost threadbare t-shirt his boyfriend stole from him months ago. It's the exact spot Robert got shot. 

Robert nudges his shoulder and smiles softly. "Stop worrying, it's nothing." 

"Tell me what ' _it'_ is and maybe I can decide that."

Robert sighs quietly and clicks the lid back on the highlighter. "Phantom pain, I suppose. Except, more pressure than pain, really. Doctor said it was perfectly normal."

"Anything I can do to help?" he raises his eyebrows hopefully. 

Robert grins, "You already are." He leans close and kisses Aaron, open-mouthed, slow and deep. When their lips part, neither of them pull away and Robert's soft floppy hair tickles Aaron's forehead.

He puts a gentle hand on Robert's chest and feels a pang of guilt in his own. 

As if he read Aaron's mind, Robert nudges him from his thoughts again. "Hey, I'm alright. It barely even happens anymore. It's just something I've learned to live with."

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place." 

"Come on, it's not like I didn't deserve it at the time." 

Aaron groans, "It's way too early to start _that_ conversation."

"You brought it up," Robert mutters defensively, rubbing his scar once more with a faint grimace. "Can we just not talk about it. I just want to keep my mind off it." 

"But you're okay?"

"I'm okay," Robert promises, then sees Aaron trying to suppress another yawn and kisses him lightly on the forehead. "Go back to bed. I'll be up in a bit." 

"Ten minutes," Aaron warns him, "Or it's your turn to wake Liv for school."

Robert laughs, "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." 

 


	4. Meds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert has epilepsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2yr Robron anniversary!

 

Liv sneaks into the pub through the back and closes the door behind her as carefully as she can. The latch clicks on, making her jump and duck behind the table where she waits a few moments for someone to come in the room and catch her. 

She promised Aaron she'd try harder in school and not skive, but she's forgotten her math homework. Normally she wouldn't care, but she spent two hours the night before sat at the kitchen table with Robert breathing down her neck instead of going to the cinema with Gabby. So if she has to skip PE to come home and get it then so be it. 

When no ones walks in, she breathes a sigh of relief and tip toes the rest of the way in the room. She remembers leaving her homework on side of the display cabinet last night so she would spot it on her way out of the door. Hopefully, Mrs. Scott doesn't grass on her missing PE so she doesn't have to give Chas the satisfaction of being right when she said why don't you just put in your school bag. 

Liv walks around the kitchen table, keeping one eye on the door that leads to the pub. 

She isn't sure why she's so nervous about getting caught, she's skipped school loads and the adults of the house are well aware. Most of the time they don't even make her go back. Chas forces her do something that she hates almost as much as school like help Marlon in the kitchen. Robert grumbles and tells Aaron he needs to sort it out, and Aaron, well he just rubs his forehead and says ' _Liv!_ '. But they don't drive her back and she never feels guilty about it because who needs school? Apparently, Aaron failed every GCSE he took and he's a business owner of a successful (not the mention really cool) scrapyard company. 

"Whatever," she mutters to herself and heads in the direction of the cabinet but her homework isn't there. She has a quick glance on the floor, checking if it's fallen off but spots something else instead. Or rather, some _one_ else. "Do you mind!" she shouts at Robert for making her jump. 

Of all the people that could have caught her, he is probably the best case scenario, considering he's the one that helped her with her math in the first place.

"Why are you on the floor, weirdo?" she sniggers, watching as his head thuds against the carpet and his eyes roll back until all she can is white. He's crumpled between the sofa and the coffee table, his arms and legs are shaking like he's freezing, and his left hand is relentlessly knocking against one of the legs of the coffee table. "R-Robert?" she asks quietly.

Something isn't right. Something is so very wrong with Robert and she feels like she might be sick watching him shake and grunt and oh God there's blood in the corner of his mouth. His eyes look dead, there's no Robert there at all, just fear and emptiness.

Dread floods through her, her heart is pounding and she can't breathe right. 

"Aaron! _Aaron_!" she screams, running for the door to the pub. 

She doesn't want to leave Robert, what if she comes back and he's just dead, lying there dead on the floor of the pub living room. His body going cold and will Aaron ever forgive her for letting Robert die alone? 

She runs through the house, silently promising Robert that she's going to get him help. He'll be okay.

"A-aron," she pants when she finds him, sitting at the bar with half a pint, laughing about something with Adam.

Aaron frowns the second he sees her and asks, "Liv, what are you doing-" Simultaneously, Chas turns to her and her mouth opens wide like she's about to shout, "Young lady-"

Liv cuts them both off. "Something's wrong with Robert." Her words come out all quivery and jumbled, she wants to run for Aaron, hug him and bury her face in his jacket. She wants to pretend she isn't crying in front of the whole pub and she wants her big brother. But she knows she can't have him because Robert needs him. Stupid Robert with his stupid elbow patches and stupid expensive aftershave that stinks. 

Aaron doesn't ask what's wrong, the colour just drains from his face in an instant and he gets this look like something terrible he knew was coming has finally arrived. He jumps off the stool with so much force it falls over and clatters on the floor and runs around the bar disappearing into the darkness of the hallway that separates the pub from their home. 

Liv follows him, Chas tries to stop her, tries to reach out for her hand and pull her close. Probably so Aaron has one less person to worry about for the time being. But Liv yanks her arm away and runs after her brother. 

Robert is right where she left him, still shaking and grunting uncontrollably and a sob bursts out of her.  _At least he's not dead_ , a voice in the back of her mind says. 

Aaron moes the coffee table as far away as he can then looks up and says, "Move the sofa." For a second Liv thinks he's talking to her so bends down to try and shift it when she bumps into Adam who is already pushing it towards the back wall. When did Adam come in the room? 

Aaron grabs a cushion, one of the velvet purple ones Chas bought last month to 'spruce' up the place for Christmas. 

"How long as he been like this?" her brother asks, gently lifting Robert's jerking head and puts the cushion under it. "Liv!" he shouts, making her flinch. "How long?"

She shakes her head, her palms are so sweaty but she feels so cold. "I-I don't...I don't know." She just wants to run upstairs, slam her bedroom door closed and cry into the pink teddy Robert won for her at the fairground in Wales all those months ago. She hates pink and fluffy things, but she secretly loves that stupid teddy. 

Aaron looks mad, really mad. Not the worst she's seen, not like when he told her she was as bad and as sick as Gordon. But it still scares her that he's going to hate her if anything happens to Robert. "Longer or shorter than five minutes?" 

Adam puts an arm around her shoulders and quietly reassures her. "Aaron, mate, she doesn't know." 

Liv pushes him away, determined to answer and help. "A couple of minutes? I don't know, he was like that when I came in, _honest_ ," she pleads as fresh tears fall down her cheeks. Just when she thinks she can't stand to look at Robert any longer, his shakes stop, his limbs fall still and he blinks the whites of his eyes away.

But he's still not the Robert she knows and reluctantly tolerates, because as Aaron moves him, tucking his hand under his head, bending his knee and rolling his on his side, he doesn't argue or put up a fuss once. He just moans and mumbles like he's in pain and Aaron sits down next to him, pretending he can't hear it but Liv knows he can because his eyes are red and wet. 

"If you forgot your prescription again, I'm gonna kill you." Aaron is rubbing his thumb back and forth on Robert's knee and looks up at Liv. He smiles forcefully, and nods his head, motioning for her to come over. "Talk to him, if you want. It helps."

"I'll leave you guys to it, shout me if you need anything." Adam smiles and ducks out of the room, leaving as quickly as he seemed to have appeared. 

Liv wipes her tears and runs the sleeve of her school jumper under her nose, hoping Chas can wash it so she doesn't have to go to school tomorrow with snot on her uniform. 

She walks over, albeit tentatively, and sits down in their rearranged living room, her leg touching Aaron's and she feels his tiny jitters he gets when he's nervous or anxious. "What about?" 

"Anything, why you skipped school, maybe." He waggles his eyebrows and bumps her shoulder, trying to make her laugh. 

She does, for his sake, just a little bit. "I forgot my math homework.  Spent ages doing it, an' all." 

"Why didn't you try calling me and I'd 'ave brought it to you." 

She rolls her eyes. "Uh, I did, loser. Your phones turned off," she lies easily. Aaron's phone is always either turned off or he just doesn't answer it because it's left on his bedside table, so she didn't even bother.

She flinches when Robert moans again. 

Aaron leans over him. "'ey, you alright?"

Robert moves his hand from under his head with a confused look and rubs the back of it over his chin where the blood has dribbled down. He sits up and looks around like he's trying to work out how he got on the floor. "Tired," he admits and his tongue sounds too big for his mouth. "What happened?" 

Aaron helps him to stand. "Seizure."

"Oh." 

"What did I tell you about not working too hard?" 

"I enjoy the work," Robert sighs. 

"We'll talk about it later. Come on, bed." Aaron has his arm around Robert's back but Robert looks like he can walk just fine on his own. "Liv, can you-"

Liv is already diving past them to open the door. Robert looks oblivious to her presence and she tries not to feel too offended. He still looks a little out of it, the expression on his face not too dissimilar to the one she had many times last night trying to do that stupid homework. 

"My mouth hurts," Robert grumbles half way towards the stairs. 

"Cheek or tongue?" 

"Both." 

She doesn't hear the rest of their conversation because her ears start ringing, the tears start flowing and she locks herself in the downstairs loos for the next two hours, crying into her knees. 

 

 

<>

 

 

It's almost ten o'clock at night and Liv is sat on her bed, her tear stained uniform is in a heap on the corner of her room and she's trying and failing to read the latest issue of Seventeen Magazine Gabby made her buy the other day. She can't get the image of Robert jerking on the floor out of her head. It's there whenever she closes her eyes and makes her feel sick all over again. 

Chas found her in the toilets eventually and explained that Robert has epilepsy. Liv has heard of it, of course she has, she's not an idiot. And she knows it makes people have fits, some have a lot, but Robert is one of the lucky ones who only has a few a year. 

It's been hours, Liv should be over it by now. It's only Robert. She barely even likes him on a good day.

Okay, that's a lie.

He's alright. Sort of. He sticks up for her, he makes a pretty good pizza and he loves Aaron. If she's being completely honest with herself, she can't really imagine her brother being with anyone else. If they ever broke up, she'd hate whoever replaced Robert. She knows it. 

She moves her daft pink teddy from her windowsill to her bed. She shoves it under her quilt to hide it when there's a knock at her door. 

"Uh, Liv, it's me. Can I come in?" 

She coughs to clear any potential lumps in her throat. "Yeah," she mumbles. 

Robert opens her door and sticks her head around. The light from her lamp isn't that great but she can still tell his colouring looks better and he's a lot more awake than when she saw him last. "Hiya...I just wanted to see if you were okay." He opens her door a little more and steps inside completely. He seems nervous. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" She opens her magazine and pretends to be half preoccupied. "I'm not the one who thought it was a great idea to use my skull to have a row with the floor." 

Robert laughs and rubs the back of his head. "I just mean, I'm sorry you had to see it." 

Liv stops turning the pages. "Not your fault, I suppose," she shrugs. "Are you okay now?" she asks slowly, not quite looking at him. 

"Good as new," he promises, but Liv can see his hand is starting to bruise from where it had been hitting the coffee table and one side of his face is slightly puffier than the other where he bit his cheek. "Get some sleep, school tomorrow. And don't even think about skiving again." 

Liv smirks and doesn't bother trying to hide it. She puts her magazine on the floor and takes out her ponytail, shuffling down the bed. 

Robert smiles at her and wishes her goodnight. He's about to close the door behind himself when Liv calls his name and his head appears back around the door. 

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Carry on and people will start to think you actually like me." 

"Never," she vows and hears him chuckling as he closes her door.


	5. Drowning By Numbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #5 - A little Chas and Robert bonding.   
> Inspired by Lucy's recent news :)

Robert is sat in the pub with his laptop and a stack of legal papers from his solicitor. There are a few customers he doesn't recognise -probably tourists- eating some pub grub and a couple of locals quietly chatting away with pint's, but apart from that, the pub is virtually empty. Which is why he doesn't quite understand why Chas is running around like a headless chicken behind the bar like it's Friday night at Happy Hour. 

Up to this point, Robert has left her to it. He's had his head bitten off enough times in the last eight months to last him a lifetime, and he'd rather not get barred again just for telling her she looks tired. Luckily he shares a bedroom with her son so it didn't last long, but still. He'd rather save himself the headache. 

Or at least that's the plan until he sees her struggling with a heavy crate of pint glasses she's stubbornly trying to carry up to the bar. 

"Chas, _what_ do you think you're doing?" Robert rushes over and takes the crate from her before she does herself an injury.

Her hands don't let go of the crate as she glares at him. "What does it look like? I've got a pub to run!" 

Chas might outdo him on the mouth front, but he'll always win where height is concerned so it's not exactly difficult to lift the crate above his head where she can't get it. 

"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?" Honestly, he does, but the scrapyard is too loud because Aaron and Adam are making use of their new crusher. Bernice is driving him up the wall and won't give him two minutes peace so he can get some work done. And he did promise Aaron he'd keep an eye on Chas if he intended to spend all day in the pub anyway. Chas tilts her hips, folds her arms and gives him her signature 'I'm warning you' pout. It's less intimidating when she has to hover her folded arms between her boobs and her frankly _huge_ belly. "You are seriously getting on my last nerve."

"Is this the part where you tell me you don't like me for the millionth time?"

She reaches for the crate again and her bracelets jingle together sounding as frustrated as she does. "Give it 'ere, I've got stuff to do." 

"Get someone else to do it."

"Just because you can swanny off your workload to anyone you please and call it delegating doesn't mean the rest of us can."

"Chas, you need a break."

"I don't have time. Marlon is doing my head in so he's banished to the kitchen, Victoria's ditched me for a second honeymoon with Adam, Charity is nowhere to be seen as usual, and we still don't have a replacement for Bailey. So that leaves little ol' me to do everything." 

Robert rolls his eyes. And she wonders where Aaron gets his stubbornness from. 

"Chas, go and sit down. There's hardly anyone here, and I'll take care of anything that needs sorting." 

"Like you know owt' about running a pub." 

Robert bites his lip and resists any sarcastic comeback that might be tempted to slip out. "I know enough from Diane. Now go, or I'm calling Aaron."

"Don't you dare, he's got enough to worry about." 

They both know it's nothing specific, but it's Aaron, he's always got something to worry about. 

"I agree," Robert plainly tells her, "So give him one less thing to worry about and take a break."

He stares down at her, unblinking, and waits for what feels like a lifetime until she huffs and barks out, "Fine." She runs off a list of what needs doing, half of which Robert knows doesn't because she's already done it. Afterward, she mutters something about how she never thought she'd be taking orders from Robert _Flippin_ ' Sugden, then clomps off to the backroom.

Robert heaves a sigh of relief, tidies up his table and puts away his laptop. He hangs his jacket up behind the bar and smiles as his first customer approaches. 

 

<>

 

A short while later , the list Chas gave him is done and sorted, and the pub has started to fill with a steady stream of punters. Although Robert's feet are starting to ache from the back and forth, there's something almost therapeutic about the repetitiveness of it all. He makes small talk with customers -or the ones he can stand or doesn't know anyway- while he pours their orders, tosses their cash into the till before asking the next person, "What can I get you?" and doing it all over again. 

Just before lunch, Robert goes into the back room to check on Chas under the guise of making himself a brew. She's sat on the sofa watching _This Morning_ with a blanket over her legs, rubbing her belly and looking like she's about to doze off. 

"You want one?" he asks, flicking the kettle on. 

"Go on, then," she yawns and turns down the volume of the telly. "I haven't heard any screams, so assume my pub is still standing."

"Yes, everything's fine. And I've let Marlon out of his cage to mind the bar for ten minutes." Robert makes two tea's, puts a heaped teaspoon of sugar in Chas's and brings them over. "You want anything to eat?" he asks, making the most of Civil Chas while he's got her and keeping her sweet.

She pulls back the blanket and gingerly adjusts herself into a semi-sitting position. "No ta, couldn't stomach even a choccy biccy right now. Think I might go back upstairs for some kip, actually." 

"Chas Dingle, voluntarily going for a lie-down, you sure you're alright?" 

"God, you sound like Aaron," she comments, and he gets the feeling it's not a compliment. "Yes, I'm fine, I'm just tired. You try sleeping with someone kicking you in the bladder from the inside."

He laughs and cringes at the same time, then sets his tea on the coffee table to help her to stand, knowing the drill by this point. She has to rock herself sideways a few times to get the momentum, but eventually she's upright and heading upstairs with her tea. 

"Shout if you want anything." 

She makes another remark about Robert _Flippin_ ' Sugden from the top of the stairs that he doesn't quite hear. He sends Aaron a quick text, finishes his brew and goes back out to the bar. 

Lunchtime is less therapeutic and more manic, but between himself and Marlon, they handle it without incident. 

When the rush is over and the pub quietens again, Robert checks his phone. No new messages from Aaron, so his mobile is probably on silent or still on their bedside table. No matter, it's not like there's an emergency. He slips his phone back in his jeans pocket and when he looks up he sees Diane coming in with a bunch of flowers. 

"Thanks, but I prefer chocolates." 

"Funny, very funny," she tuts like she's not impressed but her smile gives her away. "They're for Chas, I saw them in the market today and thought of her. Oh, she is brave for what she's doing. Two babies, all on her own." 

"She's got Aaron...and Paddy," Robert assures, taking the flowers from her.  

"And you." Diane smiles again like she's proud. He's missed seeing that from her. The last time she looked at him like that was his wedding day to Chrissie, and they both know how that turned out. "Right, where is she?" 

"She's upstairs." He steps in front of her when she moves to go behind the bar before he's even had the chance to finish. "She's sleeping."

Diane looks disappointed.

"Trust me, you do not want to get on the wrong side of Chas today." More to the point, he doesn't want to have to deal with the wrong side of Chas later on if she wakes up on the ugly side of the bed. "I'll let her know you're thinking of her."   

"Thanks, Pet." Diane pats his hand and smiles. "Your mum and dad would be so proud ." 

Robert feels something sour bubbling in the bottom of his stomach, but he smiles past it. He leaves Marlon with Diane while he goes to put the flowers in some water. He doesn't expect to see Chas back downstairs sat on the sofa. 

"These are from Diane, she sends her best," Robert looks over his shoulder to see if he can spot an empty vase. "Chas, is everything alright?" he asks when he spots tears down her face instead. 

"I couldn't sleep," she mumbles. Her voice is hollow and sad, so sad it reminds Robert so much of Aaron back when he was going through the trial with Gordon. 

"Do you want me to call Aaron?" he questions, feeling out of his depth and uncomfortable as another tear falls down her cheek ruining her mascara. 

"Why did I think I could do this?" she looks up at Robert like she's genuinely asking him. "I don't deserve to be let anywhere near another child for as long as I live." 

"Chas-"

"I'm a terrible mum." 

Robert picks up one of the kitchen chairs and moves it so he's facing her when he sits down. "I think Aaron would disagree with that." 

" _Aaron_ ," she scoffs, "Aaron is the prime example of why I shouldn't be doing this. I couldn't protect him, how am I supposed to protect two of my children?"

It's been almost two years since Aaron told him what happened to him as a kid, and to this day it makes Robert want to be sick just thinking about it. "What happened to Aaron wasn't your fault, Chas. He certainly doesn't blame you." 

"But he should. Everyone should. It's my fault. I thought I knew what was best for him and I was so wrong." 

"It was Gordon that was wrong," Robert can't help but spit his name. "You could have dragged him aimlessly across the country like Liv's mum did to her. But you didn't. You thought about Aaron first and you left him with someone who was supposed to look after him."

"I left him with a sick pervert!"

Robert sighs, going around in circles. "Trust me, I know a bad parent when I see one, and you're not it." He presses his lips together, "My dad tried to smack the thing he didn't like out of me."

She looks up suddenly with wide eyes but doesn't say anything for which he's grateful. 

"Aaron is the strongest person I know, he's the _best_ person I know. I think that's a testament to you after all he's been through." Robert puts a hand on her knee. "You're going to be great."

"When did you get so soft?" 

Robert shrugs, "Must me all that time with Aaron." He smiles and stands up so he can put the flowers in some water like he intended to.

"Oh, God," Chas groans. 

"Chas, you're going to be fine," he assures to her panicked voice and picks up a tall-ish vase he finds on the top shelf above the kitchen window.

"No, no, no. You are joking me." Robert looks over his shoulder to watch as the colour drains from her face. "I think I'm going into labour."

His jaw drops to the floor, closely followed by the vase.  


	6. Meds Pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another quick story in the Meds verse where Robert has epilepsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
> 
> Prompts and ways to make Robert's life miserable are very welcome!

Robert looks so unlike himself in a hospital bed. He looks too quiet, too small, too fragile. Everything he isn't, he suddenly becomes when he's laid on bleached sheets and surrounded by the pungent smell of antiseptic. 

Aaron will never get used to it but he knows he'll have to. This isn't the first time he's sat at Robert's bedside, holding his hand and combing his fingers through his hair until he wakes up, and it won't be the last. 

Aaron has known about Robert's epilepsy since the day he and Ross were hired to 'burgle' Home Farm. He'd seen Robert's medical alert bracelet when it flew off his wrist and Ross grabbed it for his stash of stolen goods along with Chrissie's mother's wedding ring. Both of which Aaron gave back to Robert. But aside from that, neither of them outwardly acknowledged it. There was no reason to. 

The first time he saw Robert have a seizure was during the trial. Aaron went for a walk to clear his head after a particularly bad day and Robert caught up with him. They ended up on the bridge, Robert's arm over his shoulders, running off another mantra of moving words about how strong Aaron was. Suddenly he stopped to stare into space. That was Aaron's only warning before Robert's legs gave out and he started convulsing on the ground. 

Robert never remembers the minutes leading up to and following his seizures. But Aaron will never forget the petrified look on Robert's face as his teeth clattered together and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. 

Since then, Robert has had five seizures in total, two serious and three moderate. A part of Aaron worries he's the reason, that he's causing more stress than he's worth and putting Robert's body through hell in the process. But the rational part of his brain knows Robert's seizures aren't more frequent than they used to be. It's just a case of Robert was better at hiding them or pretending during their affair. It certainly makes the reason for the number of times Robert cancelled on him clearer. 

Robert makes a sound in the back of his throat and Aaron smiles, leaning further over him. "Hiya, lazy bones." He brushes Robert's hair off his forehead and kisses him. "How ya feeling?" 

Robert reaches for the oxygen mask over his mouth and moves it out of the way. "Sore. Hospital?" he questions, his eyes rolling lazily around the room. 

"Afraid so. You wouldn't stop seizing, had to call an ambulance," Aaron tells him apologetically, replacing the mask. 

"Home?" 

Aaron shakes his head. "Not until tomorrow. Doctor says they probably need to send you for some tests, maybe change your medication." 

"Sorry."

"For what?" Aaron frowns.

"Ruining your day off," Robert says miserably, his voice muffled by the mask and quiet hiss of oxygen. 

"Shut up, it's not like it happens purpose." He rubs his thumb over Robert's knuckles. "Get some sleep, you look terrible."

Robert smiles and mutters, "Charmer," before closing his eyes.

 


End file.
